La qualité de l'air intérieur dans les hôpitaux

Le projet QAIHOSP s’appuie sur les résultats de l’étude de faisabilité AICHA qui présentait, pour la première fois en 2012, des données de contamination chimique de l’air intérieur d’un hôpital, l’hôpital Pontchaillou du CHU de Rennes. Cette étude a montré que la contamination était dominée par les alcools (ex. éthanol, isopranol), l’éther et l’acétone, avec une grande variabilité entre les zones étudiées. Ce projet vise donc à collecter des informations sur cet ensemble de contaminants, c’est-à-dire disposer d’une série de données suffisamment complète pour servir de base à une première évaluation de l’exposition du personnel et des patients aux différentes substances chimiques présentes dans les hôpitaux ainsi qu’aux agents biologiques aéroportés

A decision support system for drinking water production integrating health risks assessment

The issue of drinking water quality compliance in small and medium scale water services is of paramount importance in relation to the 98/83/CE European Drinking Water Directive (DWD). Additionally, concerns are being expressed over the implementation of the DWD with respect to possible impacts on water quality from forecast changes in European climate with global warming and further anticipated reductions in north European acid emissions. Consequently, we have developed a decision support system (DSS) named ARTEM-WQ (AwaReness Tool for the Evaluation and Mitigation of drinking Water Quality issues resulting from environmental changes) to support decision making by small and medium plant operators and other water stakeholders. ARTEM-WQ is based on a sequential risk analysis approach that includes consideration of catchment characteristics, climatic conditions and treatment operations. It provides a holistic evaluation of the water system, while also assessing human health risks of organic contaminants potentially present in treated waters (steroids, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, bisphenol-a, polychlorobiphenyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, petrochemical hydrocarbons and disinfection by-products; n = 109). Moreover, the system provides recommendations for improvement while supporting decision making in its widest context. The tool has been tested on various European catchments and shows a promising potential to inform water managers of risks and appropriate mitigative actions. Further improvements should include toxicological knowledge advancement, environmental background pollutant concentrations and the assessment of the impact of distribution systems on water quality variation

Résidus issus de médicaments dans les eaux

International audienceThe use of drugs raises the issue of residues in water and aquatic environments. Discharges after use, their presence, concentrations and transfers to the environment and resources are of concern to the scientifics and decision makers. This article recalls the characteristics of pharmaceutical products, the sources of emissions and discharges, and ends with the means of treating effluents. What provisions should be made for the quality of water and aquatic environments? What are the levels of risk for the health of populations? Low doses and mixtures of residues pose limits to environmental and public health risk assessments.L’usage des médicaments pose un problème de résidus dans les eaux et dans les milieux aquatiques. Les rejets après usage, leur présence, les concentrations et les transferts vers les milieux et les ressources interpellent les scientifiques et les décideurs. Cet article rappelle les caractéristiques des produits pharmaceutiques, puis les sources d’émission et de rejets, pour aboutir aux moyens de traiter les effluents. Quelles dispositions prendre pour la qualité de l’eau et des milieux aquatiques ? Quels sont les niveaux de risques pour la santé des populations ? Les faibles doses et les mélanges de résidus posent des limites aux évaluations des risques environnementaux et sanitaire

Responsabilité environnementale et formation des acteurs de la santé et du social : les choix de l’EHESP

National audienceL’environnement a un impact majeur sur la santé des populations. L’Organisation Mondiale de la Santé estime à 23% le taux de décès qui peuvent être attribués à des facteurs environnementaux.Sensibilisée de longue date aux problématiques environnementales, l’Ecole des hautes études en santé publique (EHESP) a pour mission de former les acteurs du système de santé à la compréhension et à l’analyse scientifique des déterminants sociaux et environnementaux de la santé humaine, à l’évaluation et à la gestion des risques environnementaux pour la santé, à l’élaboration et la promotion de politiques favorables à la santé et de mesures de prévention efficaces.Avec le temps, l’EHESP s’est engagée plus loin, en intégrant le développement durable dans sa stratégie, son organisation interne et ses relations extérieures. Consciente de sa responsabilité en tant qu’acteur premier de la formation en Santé publique, l’Ecole souhaite conduire un processus de promotion, initier les premiers changements de comportements et jeter ainsi les bases incontournables pour relever collectivement les Objectifs Développement Durable (ODD) des Nations Unies, notamment ceux liés à la santé, aux inégalités, au climat, à la dégradation de l’environnement. (Intro.

Understanding the origins of herbicides metabolites in an agricultural watershed through their spatial and seasonal variations

International audienceThe aim of this study is to understand the spatial and seasonal variations of persistent herbicides metabolites and to determine their origins in the Vilaine River watershed, Britany-France. Improving knowledge on herbicides metabolites sources and seasonality is important for drinking water resource management. Data were collected at 13 sampling stations during five sampling campaigns in 2016 and 2017. Relations between water quality parameters, herbicides and metabolites were analyzed using statistical methods. The influence of land use and wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) on streams water quality has been identified. Cluster Analysis revealed that two groups of sampling stations can be described as “urban” with stations downstream the urban area and as “agricultural” with stations located downstream of the watershed. Chloroacetamids metabolites have been associated together with nitrates and agricultural areas as could be expected. Thus, the drinking water treatment plant located in the estuary of the Vilaine River is exposed to high metolachlor ESA and nitrate loads all year long. Aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) is associated to anthropogenic urban contamination and nutrient loads. AMPA has its major sources in both glyphosate and phosphonate detergents issued from WWTP. This can help to adapt surface water treatment process and water management policies concerning herbicides metabolites

Du concept à l’application de la mesure environnementale non paramétrique: Exemple de l’étude d’un réseau d’assainissement industriel

A complementary approach of environmental analytical chemistry is presented in this paper. The non parametric measurement (NPM) concept is based on the direct exploitation of an analytical signal (absorbance, intensity, potential, …) without parameter calculation, leading to the simple characterisation of the studied sample. For example, the existence of a direct isosbestic point for a set of absorption spectra (point where spectra cross together) shows that the global quality of the medium is conserved and is in equilibrium between two given states (without considering non absorbing species). From the calculation of the ratio of (1) the number of spectra crossing at a given isosbestic point, on (2) the total number of spectra, the global quality variability can be simply estimated, without any knowledge of the medium composition. After the explanation of the NPM concept, the study of an industrial wastewater network in a refinery site is presented. Starting from the sampling of wastewater along a network branch, the calculation of variability is carried out with the study of isosbestic points after normalisation (in order to take the dilution effect into account). The examination of UV spectra shape brings complementary qualitative information. Moreover, the quantitative exploitation of spectra is obviously possible, namely by the use of a deconvolution method. Limiting the application to the results of NPM, the study shows that the global variability decreases from the process units to the outlet of the wastewater treatment plant (end of pipe).L’exploitation directe de signaux analytiques peut, sans donner lieu à un résultat de mesure, conduire à l’obtention d’informations utiles concernant par exemple la caractérisation d’un milieu environnemental. Cette démarche est celle de la mesure non paramétrique qui permet rapidement et simplement de compléter les informations données par des méthodes analytiques classiques. Une application concernant l’étude du réseau d’assainissement industriel d’une raffinerie est présentée dans cet article. L’étude de la variabilité qualitative globale de l’effluent le long du réseau, réalisée par l’exploitation des faisceaux de spectre d’absorption UV, montre que celle-ci diminue de la sortie des unités vers le rejet des effluents traités

Contribution to Surface Water Contamination Understanding by Pesticides and Pharmaceuticals, at a Watershed Scale

International audienceThis study aims at understanding the presence of regulated and emerging micropollutants, particularly pesticides and pharmaceuticals, in surface water, regarding spatial and temporal influences at a watershed scale. The study of relations between micropollutants and other water quality and hydroclimatic parameters was carried out from a statistical analysis on historical and experimental data of different sampling sites from the main watershed of Brittany, western France. The outcomes point out the influence of urban and rural areas of the watershed as well as the impact of seasons on contamination variations. This work contributes to health risk assessment related to surface water contamination by micropollutants. This approach is particularly interesting in the case of agricultural watersheds such as the one studied, where more than 80% of surface water is used to produce drinking water